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Kickstart some art: Cool-sounding crowd-funding projects

- Orion: The Man Who Would Be King. Today there are some fans who want to believe Elvis Presley is still alive, but in the years after the King's death, people really wanted to believe it. Enter Orion, a

Kickstart some art: Cool-sounding crowd-funding projects

Once again, it's time for my monthly roundup of crowd-funding ideas that sound worth our time and money. Peruse them below, and act quickly if you'd like to see them come to fruition.

A large percentage of the items mentioned in this column are funded, so if you have any suggestions, please send 'em to popcandy@usatoday.com or via Twitter. Thanks!

- Orion: The Man Who Would Be King. Today there are some fans who want to believe Elvis Presley is still alive, but in the years right after the King's death, people really wanted to believe it. Enter Orion, a masked singer who was part of an insane-sounding scheme to make us think Elvis still walked the earth. Filmmaker Jeanie Finlay is making a documentary about Orion, and I truly hope she reaches her $50,000 goal. If nothing else, watch her weird and wonderful pitch video (but the rewards are pretty great, too).

The stop-motion web series 'House of Monsters' is in need of a little cash.(Photo: Kickstarter)

- Enemy of Man. It's hard to believe Vincent Regan hasn't reached his $250,000 goal to make an indie version of Macbeth starring Sean Bean and Rupert Grint. He has less than three days left in his Kickstarter campaign, so if you want to see it, act fast.

- House of Monsters. This stop-motion web series looks incredible and features vampires, werewolves, mummies and more of your favorite monsters. Help artist Dawn Brown make her magnificent dream come alive.

- Beardo the Movie. This documentary about the World Beard and Mustache Championships is finished — in fact, I've mentioned it on the blog — but the filmmakers need money in order to make it available to the public. They're only asking for $2,000, and this sounds like a film that would appeal to a large portion of the Pop Candy community.

- The Mike DeStefano documentary. I was hooked after seeing the trailer for this film, which profiles the fearless late comedian who somehow managed to turn incredible struggle into laughs. Friends and colleagues who are interviewed include Eugene Mirman and Colin Quinn.

- Nerd HQ 2014. Chuck's Zachary Levi wants to organize another charity-driven, celeb-filled, nerd-friendly gathering that takes place simultaneously during San Diego Comic-Con. The problem: These days it takes crazy money to put on anything during Comic-Con. If you're headed that way and think this sounds like a cool idea, investigate further at Indiegogo.

- Schmuck: A Graphic Novel. The very talented Seth Kushner has written a semi-autobiographical graphic novel about looking for love in New York, and 22 cartoonists (like our pals Dean Haspiel and Josh Neufeld) are doing the artwork. Seth is a guy that has never done me wrong, and I hope he can reach his $15,000 goal. And oh, did I mention Jonathan Ames is writing the foreword?

- Little Feet. Alexandre Rockwell has finished his indie film (and has received positive reviews for it), but he needs money for things like music rights and the final sound mix. Rockwell is an accomplished director (he helmed one of the segments in Four Rooms), and his rewards include items signed by Steve Buscemi, Sam Rockwell, Peter Dinklage and other well-known admirers.